


like a cat

by asdf8975



Category: IZONE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 00:49:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16566416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asdf8975/pseuds/asdf8975
Summary: Hitomi is often the subject to Nako's skinship when she isn't being coddled by the other members of IZ*ONE.





	like a cat

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to write about chaeyeon and sakura but somehow this happened instead

"Studying?"

Hitomi's eyes flickered at the familiar, yet accented Korean that touched her ears. She glanced upwards, surprised somewhat that Nako talked to her in Korean, but slowly returned to her notebook and replied nonchalantly as the cushion slightly compressed next to her. "Mm, just finishing this quiz that Chaeyeon gave me." She opted to using Japanese--it was just natural between her and Nako to do so.

A soft hum buzzed in her ear and there's a weight against her shoulder, Nako closed the small space between them to take a closer look at the paper. From the corner of the brunette's eyes, she watched Nako closely--the smaller girl's brow furrowed in concentration. She could pick out the small freckles scattered on her face--

She bit her lip and pushed herself to look forward, ignore the close proximity and hide her embarrassment. They were close friends after all, this was just Nako being Nako, even if she didn't show a lot of skinship among the other members (except for a certain Unnie, but most of the time they were initiated by the other party).

It was somewhat strange, two members of the same (mother) idol group, rarely interacted, until they were brought together by a Korean survival program, now have become such close friends in such a small time. Hitomi didn't know Nako like her fellow AKB48 Team 8 members, but just how comfortable they were with each other made it seem otherwise. Honestly, even in IZ*ONE, she wouldn't have been this close to Nako if it wasn't for the odd split that happened within their dorm. Everyone enjoyed each other's company, but from time to time, they would naturally split off into pairs. Wonyoung and Yuri were almost always together, causing havoc and doing the craziest things when Chaeyeon wasn't watching them. Sakura and Chaeyeon were just naturally together--this was something that didn't change since their Produce 48 days.

This left Nako and Hitomi and while Hitomi didn't often initiate things because she was more shy and reserved around others, Nako just filled the seat at her side with no reservations.

Tonight was no different--Wonyoung and Yuri were doing something in the kitchen, their raucous laughter could probably be heard from the second dorm, and from Hitomi's room that she shared with Chaeyeon, she could hear a mix of Korean and Japanese being exchanged between Chaeyeon and Sakura--mostly the latter who was going on something about Red Velvet but is constantly cut off by Chaeyeon's contagious laughter.

This left Hitomi out in the living room on her own until Nako snuck in, solving a small written quiz that Chaeyeon wrote for her the previous night on their way back from the studio. She was proud to be studying under Chaeyeon--in both Korean and dancing, so being the diligent student, she worked hard. The quiz was about Korean proverbs with some Japanese explanation (which looked like Sakura's hand writing) and it stumped her because you simply don't learn proverbs as a beginner.

Nako's lips pursed out in a pout, "I don't understand a thing, it doesn't help that Sakura's explanation sucks."

Hitomi giggled, Nako always her natural, freely speaking self as she switched back to Japanese. "Proverbs are difficult, even in Japanese." She replied shortly, writing out different words in Hangul that she thought would fit in the sentence. She's trying hard to look at the sentence in more of an abstract manner, but it was hard when Nako brushed against her cheek and shoulder. Nako never struck her as someone clingy like Hyewon or Yena, but there were times where even she wanted attention. Eunbi naturally gave that to her, but as she was at the other dorm, Hitomi was the next choice if Nako wasn't being coddled by the other members.

"Nako-chan."

Hitomi finally said and is met with a small 'oof' as Nako's brown hair swiped past her cheek. She huffed, nearly catching it in her mouth. "You're moving too much."

"You're writing too much, I barely can read it."

The tone in Nako's voice is playful but had a hint of annoyance. Even though Nako was considered the "Korean genius" she was slower at reading and writing. Hitomi took praise in those skills secretly as she considered herself the weakest at Korean compared to Sakura and Nako. She easily propped her chin on the top of Nako's head, using their (small) height difference to her advantage.

"Love is just--"

Hitomi is saying each syllable outloud until Nako suddenly took Hitomi's pen and forced her to circle a random word. She batted the bottom of Hitomi's chin again.

"Hii~chan~"

Hitomi sighed, her will finally crumbled. She's much too kind-hearted to keep on ignoring Nako like this. She placed her notebook on the glass table and slowly reclined backwards, allowing Nako to fully sprawl on top. Nako curled up against Hitomi, a hum of happiness escaped at the familiar comfort and warmth she felt as a pair of arms circled around.

The Tochigi native seemed to be popular with the other members when they wanted to nap or bother her nap. Yuri and Nako flopped on her often if she tried to sleep on the couch. They were like a pair of small animals.

Hitomi snorted a little but gently continued to stroke Nako's back. "You're like a cat, Nako-chan." She finally admitted and Nako doesn't budge.

"It's because I used to be Sasshi's cat~"

There's a small roll in Hitomi's eyes as Nako batted against her widen cheeks for fun to emphasize her "cat-like" actions. She even added a "Nekkoya" to be extra cheeky. Hitomi found her will to even retort against her fellow Japanese member diminished as a yawn escaped her lips. The exhaustion from their busy day caught up to her.

Nako seemed to notice and stopped hitting her and settled herself underneath Hitomi's chin again. Silence blanketed them as they were comfortable with not moving. Hitomi continued to soothingly rub against Nako's back but her eyes slowly shut as the darkness beckoned her.

She didn't know when she fell asleep but the last she heard was a "good night" and felt a gentle squeeze.

* * *

 

"Hitomi, you can come back, I kicked Saku-chan out---"

Chaeyeon emerged from their shared room after convincing Sakura they didn't have enough time in the night to go through the entire Red Velvet discography.

She paused mid-sentence as she spotted two tangled limbs on the couch. She smiled and tried to contain her laughter as she went to fetch a blanket from her room.

She came back shortly after and draped the warm blanket to cover the both of them and gently ruffled Nako and Hitomi's hair. It's been an exhausting last few weeks, so moments like these needed to be treasured.

As she is about to leave them be, she spotted the proverb quiz she gave to Hitomi the previous day. Chaeyeon nodded in satisfaction and marked the sentence correct before she left to make sure two brats were getting ready to sleep.

_Love is just love, it can never be explained._


End file.
